Once again, I was sat down at my usual table in the cafeteria, waiting for Vic to join me for dinner. I had not seen him at all today and Gerard and Frank were not present either. I begrudgingly poked at the slowly cooling food with my fork, without an appetite.
I had been feeling very lonely lately, and especially today. Vic did not eat breakfast with me and was nowhere to be found, so I had no one to talk to and spent the whole day at work experience, fruitlessly messing around with the piano and barely even being to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Today, the cafeteria was not as quiet as yesterday. In fact, it was booming loud with everyone chatting away. They all seemed so excited about something and my suspicions quickly peaked. This was jail, they weren't supposed to be fucking excited! Something must have been going on, but I did not care enough to listen in to any of the conversations. It wasn't my business anyway.
Finally, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a familiar small figure entering the room. Even though I was mad at him for abandoning me, I could not keep the grin off my face at the sight of him. Even something in my stomach fluttered slightly. However, as I looked up fully, my smile faded and the feeling disappeared when I saw who Vic was walking with.
Silently, with blank expressions, Vic, Gerard, Frank, Danny and Ashley all entered the room together. I almost felt my heart shatter. Was Vic replacing me? And for my enemies as well? I had probably gotten too boring for him and he decided that he had enough of me. It was no surprise as everyone would inevitably leave at some point, like most of my previous friends who betrayed me by siding with Katelynne, but it did not hurt any less. I was not good enough for him.
The small group parted, going separate ways and giving each other small nods. Vic, Gerard and Frank approached the table I was sitting at, which slightly relieved me. But what made me gain more faith was the warm smile Vic was giving me.
"I'm so sorry for not being here in the morning, I was really busy," my best friend apologised and slid onto the bench next to me, wrapping his arms around me in a cosy and reassuring hug which was all I needed, to know that he still cared about me. A slight pink tint fluttered onto my cheeks, from the touch, and Vic pulled away, sooner than I wanted him to.
"What were you busy with?" I nonchalantly asked, just as Gee and Frank excused themselves to grab some food for themselves and Vic.
"Nothing you need to worry about right now," he assured, but I was still not convinced. Of course I was going to be worried, after seeing him around Ashley and Danny. Ash was all talk and probably could not hurt anyone even if he wanted to, because he was nothing but a coward; and Danny was more clueless and dense than a day old foetus; but I was on bad terms with both and seeing Vic associating with them was quite heart-breaking. I felt betrayed, but I could not stay mad at someone as cute as him! ...Wait, what?
"Why were you with Ashley and Danny?" I kept interrogating him, feeling like a suspicious girlfriend.
"We were just discussing what will happen later tonight."
"And what will happen later tonight?"
"You'll find out soon," he dismissed, as if it was nothing, just as Gee and Frank reappeared and slid a tray of food over to Vic when they sat down opposite us.
I huffed out in annoyance, hating secretive Vic. I knew that I was being annoying, but I wanted to make sure that he was safe at all times. He was pretty much all I had now and I did not know what I would do if I lost him, so it was only logical for me to be very protective of him.
Clumsily Vic accidentally dropped his plastic fork to the floor and, with the level of hygiene in this place, it would probably give him AIDs if he brought it anywhere near his lips again, but he sunk down to retrieve it anyway. Littering was bad, after all! As he leaned under the table, I felt a touch on my skin, as his hand trailed up my leg making me jump.
"What are you doing?" I hissed quietly, only for him to hear. His fingers were messing with my trouser leg, until I felt something cold and thin slide into my shoe and press against my foot. Then another, thicker item was placed there too and he covered them both with the fabric of my clothes for no one to see.
Vic pulled himself back up and I gave him a questioning look, wondering what he had done.
"You know what to do with the tape," he leaned closer and murmured into my ear, his breath tickled me. "Be very discreet with it. Pretend to go to sleep at your usual time and stay like that until at least 2 am. Then, come out of your cell and meet me at M's office at 2:30. If anyone tries to attack or hurt you, on the way, use the knife to defend yourself. Don't let any of the officers see you and be quick."
With that, Vic shuffled away and exited the room, leaving his half-empty tray of food and a very confused friend.
***
Just as the time neared 9 pm (when the doors got locked), I slipped into the bathroom and tore away a piece of tape from the roll which Vic provided me with. Upon returning to my room I carefully placed it over the lock in the door, and I was very subtle about it. I lay down on my bed, first doodling in my notebook for about an hour, before switching my light off and pretending to fall asleep, just like I was instructed to do.
I had absolutely no idea what was going on and I was panicking slightly on the inside. Vic had given me these strange tasks and I did not understand any of them. Why would I need to defend myself with the knife, in the first place? Nothing was going on. How did he get the knife anyway? Also, why were we meeting at M's office? He would surely punish us, if he saw us outside of our cells at such a late time. And what about the cameras? They were recording our every move, so we would certainly get caught wondering around. Although Vic had come to my room, during the night, in the past, but they probably decided to ignore it seeing as we were not doing anything bad. This, however, seemed very bad. And reckless, may I add.
At first I was slightly worried about how I could possibly know when 2:30 came, but as soon as I heard the heavy footsteps of a patrolling officer I knew exactly what to do. From my memory, I recalled that he passed my room at around 2:15. So, in my head, I counted what felt like 15 minutes before making my way towards my door, keeping my eyes on the observant camera which could see my every move. This was not going to end well at all.
As I laced my fingers over the handle, ready to push it, I heard a noise from outside. It sounded like the bang that a door would make when being forced open with great power. It startled me and made me jump slightly, stepping away from the entrance to my room. My eyebrows knitted together as more of those sounds echoed throughout the halls and I would have paid to be able to see what was going on, but I preferred not to take the risk.
Sooner rather than later, even more noise was being made: this time, by voices. People were screaming and yelling and I recognised almost all of them at once. There were also the distressed footsteps of running officers, who obviously wanting to calm everyone down. I started getting extremely worried, as the noises spread across the entire hallway. And then it clicked.
This was the fucking riot.
Swiftly and with the grace of a feline, I manoeuvred out of my room, clutching the provided knife tightly but hiding it under my sleeve. It was worse than I expected.
The hallways were littered with people who I had considered harmless, wielding stolen weapons such as knives and tools. I immediately felt intimidated by the entire situation. My breathing started speeding up. The turmoil was moving down in the direction of group A's familiar courtyard and I knew that it would not be fun out there. However, as I stepped into the rushing crowd, I felt my body getting pushed along by them in the same direction. I yelped and attempted to get myself out of there, but it was no use and I was carried away by the brawl in the completely opposite direction to Officer Wentz's office.
I had been transported outside by the crazed mob and, as soon as I did so, I knew that what was going on inside of the building was child's play compared to this. There were prisoners attacking other prisoners; knife fights; and a mixture of people from both of our groups. Frantic officers were running around in an attempt to ease the situation, but they only ended up getting hurt too.
My lungs were on fire and I found it difficult to supply them with air. There was so much going on around me and it was horrifying. So this was why I needed the knife...
And, sure as hell, it came in handy, as I felt something hard collide with my back, sending me to the floor with a loud thump. I shrieked, and shielded my face with my hands as I fell, attempting to crawl away from the unfamiliar man who had latched into me for no apparent reason. I did not even know him – why would he want to hurt me? I was not involved in this, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That happened way too often.
The large man crawled on top of me with a wicked smirk on his face and, as much as the thought of harming anyone terrified me, it was kill or be killed. I raised my knife, ready to plunge it into his chest, but the male's hand wrapped around my wrists and pinned them down above my head. Using his other hand, he fished out a blade of his own and I knew this was the end.
I failed Vic. I failed Cope. I failed myself.
My eyes shut tightly, waiting for the impact of the knife when, all of a sudden, my ears were deafened with a prominent ringing as the familiar sound of a firing bullet ricocheted through the dead of the night. The huge man fell on top of me and I was stuck under his entire body weight. I could feel warm liquid staining my jumpsuit, turning it more red than orange.
By now I was gasping for air, desperate for my lungs to be filled. A strong pair of arms was hooked onto mine, as I got pulled out from under the dead man who had been shot in the back. In a panic, I spun around to see who had helped me out, to be met with the shaggy, but grinning, face of Danny. Behind him, shakily wielding a pistol, was Ashley, his whole body trembling and his eyes wide.
Danny helped me push through the crowd and to the entrance of the building but, before I could carry on inside, he grabbed my arm, spun me around and did something I would never expect him to do.
Danny firmly planted his lips on mine.
My eyes widened and I was too flabbergasted to even breathe. His chapped lips moved against mine fiercely in a desperate kiss, but I could not bring myself to push him away, or even kiss back. He finally pulled away and grinned at me.
"I've wanted to do that for so long," he confessed, leaving me even more confused than before. "Go!" He urged, shoving me in the direction of the building.
I wasted no time in sprinting to M's office, beyond the point of caring about any dangers of it and having no time to even consider what had happened only a few moments ago. There seemed to be more adrenaline in my veins than blood and I was not in the right mindset to comprehend anything, so I went with the flow and acted on impulse.
I burst through the thick door of my destination, to be faced with Vic, Gerard, Frank and M. They were restlessly littered around the room, with worried expressions on their torn faces. Upon becoming aware of my presence, Vic was showered with relief but that soon disappeared and turned into horror when he noticed the copious amounts of blood on my clothes.
"Oh my god, Kellin, are you okay?" He asked, rushing towards me and picking at every limb to see if I had any injuries. Except a few bruises which would undoubtedly form soon, I was fine. My heart was still beating faster than ever before and it was a miracle that I had not passed out yet.
"Yes, but what's going on out there?" I exclaimed. "That is not an average riot!"
"It's a distraction," he calmly soothed.
"To what?"
"Our escape."